Thunderstorm
by Kyron
Summary: After a rouge hurricane destroys the small city of Santa Cruz, a team of Autobots is sent in to help. While hunting survivors, Bluestreak becomes trapped and realizes there's more to humanity than he ever thought.


**Thunderstorm**

**By: Kyron**

To say it was the rainy season would be putting it very mildly. The western seaboard of the United States has been constantly bombarded with one storm after another. Most of the storms were quite minor, however, that was a run of luck that would soon change.

_"A hurricane has been identified off of the coast of Northern California and is expected to make land fall within the night. Weather Bureaus across the country say that this could be the absolute worst storm to hit the West Coast in over three decades…"_

Optimus sighed and turned off the vid-screen. Already he had requests on his desk to send in crews to help the civilians in Fort Bragg California to prepare for the approaching menace. His concern at the moment was, did they have enough time. The story was all over the news. Every station on the west coast showed something about the approaching storm. They named the hurricane Jean. Jean was special in a sense that it had formed close to land and gained strength on at an astounding rate. The storm was also being very unpredictable and had been giving forecasters fits with the most erratic movements ever recorded. If it were to hit land at it's current velocity, there would be massive destruction.

Prime pressed the comm button on his desk, "Optimus to Prowl. I need to see you for a minute, please."

"_On my way." _came the reply.

He and Prowl ended up working for over an hour on how to handle the situation with Jean. They were finishing up and preparing the dispatch orders when the tactician's communicator beeped.

"_Jazz to Prowl." _

"Go ahead, Jazz."

"_You and the boss-man might wanna kick on the ole vid-screen. Seems our girl is misbehaving." _Jazz replied. Prowl narrowed his optics a bit and activated the vid-screen. The weather was on as it had been for several hours, however, it was the headline over the top of the screen that caught both of their attentions. _"Jean Changes Course, Landfall Within Three Hours." _Optimus stood slowly, hands on his desk, and observed the map. The hurricane wasn't going to hit the original supposed target of Fort Bragg. No, instead it was headed for an area that hadn't even planned on seeing any rain for the day. It was headed to Santa Cruz, over 200 miles south of Bragg. "By Primus…" Optimus said quietly. There was no way. No way they could get there before it hit. Not even Skyfire could get them there before the storm knocked him out of the air. He looked over at Prowl and saw that he too came to the same conclusion. They couldn't do anything.

* * *

Bluestreak looked at the damage before him. Rubble littered the streets before they even made it to Santa Cruz and they had to transform to finish the trek on foot. As soon as it was announced that the storm had changed direction, the team was dispatched. Himself, Tracks, Hound and the Protectobots were supposed to have been sent to assist with the preparation for the storm but instead found themselves searching for survivors. Upon the teams arrival to the disaster site, it had been determined by Hot Spot that they should split up and try to recover as many humans as they could before the last of the rain bands hit. Thus now he stood alone near many large piles of rubble. Inhaling a deep breath through his air circulators he began rummaging through the nearest pile, trying to ignore some of the puddles of water that were tinged pink. The young gunner worked diligently throughout the day, uncovering many of the victims that had been trapped in their homes or work places. Some were alive…but most…

Bluestreak shook his head and inhaled another deep breath. The scene was too familiar, too close to a very raw memory that he still fought on the nightly basis. He kept seeing his home on Cybertron. It was destroyed, much like the city here. Buildings were demolished, wounded were left to die, and many had not even known what hit them. Bluestreak, however, knew _exactly_ what hit him. These people never really stood a chance. Jean had been more merciless than the entire Decepticon army could even hope to achieve.

Another shaky breath as Blue turned his thoughts back to the task at hand and moved on to the next building. This one, it seems, was built very strong as some of the walls were still standing. He sighed and began gently pulling away at some of the larger pieces, unveiling yet another victim in the process. It seems this one had been trapped in a cubby hole created by the rubble and had died while trapped beneath it.

But then he saw Cybertron again. Dark, dank and desolate…he felt the walls tight around him, pinning him to the ground, keeping the air from reaching his cooling systems. He was smothering to death.

A groan brought him back to the present and he started, dropping the rubble. Almost immediately he was digging again, pulling away large scoops of dirt and debris from the pile. After what felt like an eternity of digging, he finally found the human. He was alive! Barely but alive none the less. "Hang on! I'm going to get you out of here…" he said, gently scooping the injured human into his hand and then setting him down on a cleared and relatively dry spot. A quick scan showed the human as breathing but unconscious. Bluestreak let out a huff of air and sat back on his knees near the human. Quickly he activated his comm device.

"Bluestreak to Hot Spot. I got one that's still alive."

"_Okay, Blue. Gimme your location and I'll get someone out to you."_

"Right. I'm at-ah!" A large crashing noise resounded over the line before it cut to nothing but static.

* * *

Blue coughed dust out of his intakes as he came back online. Something wasn't right. Nothing felt right. Everything felt so very heavy. And why was it dark again? Had the storms already arrived?

Bluestreak tried to clear out his muddled processor when it hit him. He was pinned on the ground. Trapped. Air started moving faster through his intakes as his situation sank in, pulling in small pieces of whatever was atop of him and he began coughing again. He tried moving his limbs but found them quite effectively immobilized. Blue's comm line did nothing but hiss static at him at irregular intervals. And Primus this was painful! But he had to get out! He had to! The human was still out there! He tried moving again and felt the rubble shift over him, uncovering a small hole near his eyes. Small streams of daylight came inside, bringing with it a slight costal breeze. The gunner shuttered his optics for a minute and concentrated on calming his breathing. _"Okay," _he told himself, _"I need help. Get help and then move."_ His plan in mind, he tried his comm again, hoping beyond hope that the busted piece of equipment might work. Bluestreak groaned as more static filled his audios. "Stupid piece of crap…sheesh. You'd think we could have a comm device that could take some wear and tear. Maybe without the tearing but defiantly for the wear. I should tell Wheeljack to make these things wall proof." he mumbled under his breath.

Status reports filled his HUD and gave him a listing of all the damage his body had incurred from the fallen wall. Unfortunately his self-repair system itself had been damaged and would take a while to get itself straightened out…much less get his communications systems working. So, he decided to get old fashioned. "Hot Shot?! Hound! Tracks! Anybody?!" he yelled through the small hole by his head. He received no answer other than the resounding rumble of thunder as it rolled across the sky. The meager sunlight started to darken and the small breeze cooled considerably. The storm had arrived. Bluestreak was on his own.

He felt memories surge on him. A time when he was in a similar situation, trapped under a pile of debris, all that remained of his former home. Primus he hated remembering that. But it couldn't be helped now. He could almost smell the dead air, feel the oppressive weight of the metallic building as it sat atop of him. The sounds of the dying coming from every direction. He'd felt his own systems shutting down, trying to lull him into a stasis he'd never come out of. His fuel pump raced and his body felt cold. Air rushed in and out of his intakes as his panicked mind worked through the scenarios that it had been presented with. All equations equaled to one answer. Death. And he wanted out. Now.

The creak of metal on stone roused him. It was just a small scratching noise, hardly even audible over the roar of rainfall that had begun falling. Bluestreak on-lined his optics, not even remembering shutting them off. Something was outside of his prison. The hole in the debris near his head began to widen at an agonizingly slow pace. Bright flashes of light illuminated the destroyed landscape for mere microseconds, followed by the rumble of thunder. That light was so fleeting but it was enough to give the sharpshooter an image of who was out there.

He didn't believe it. The human was barely functioning when he had been pulled from the rubble and now, here he was trying to dig out Bluestreak. The young Autobot ran a scan of the male, appalled at the results the scans registered. There was no way this one should be alive! His vital signs were minimal at best and his breathing was so labored that Blue was certain the humans lungs were nearly destroyed. He could hear the raspy inhale and the gurgling exhale with every breath the man took and yet, the digging didn't cease. Bluestreak made an attempt to move as the man began coughing uncontrollably. Soaking from the rain, more than likely fatally injured and the most dogged thing the Autobot had ever seen. "Please. You have to rest. My friends will get here soon. They can get me out. You're already hurt and I don't want you to hurt more because you're trying to help me get out of this mess. I'm only in this mess because I'm clumsy and all that stuff and all I wanted to do was help get you guys out of here and-" Bluestreak's ramble was cut off by the human once again digging. He felt his processor dragging along. Something was very much wrong with his systems but the wall had managed to disrupt his diagnostic circuitry. He knew he'd run a diagnostic not too long ago…it hadn't registered anything major. But now, he felt so slagging tired. Nothing really felt right, in fact, he felt sort of detached as the human worked to dig him out.

Strange how the turn of events make you reflect on things. Not but minutes before, or was it hours? Either way, just a short time ago, their roles had been reversed. Now, with the rain pelting down on them both and seemingly not one other living soul around, the two shared something in common. The will to survive long enough to see the other taken care of. Another coughing fit racked the human's body, making the man fall to his knees and clutch at his chest. Bluestreak tried to speak, tried to ask if he was okay and yet, knowing the answer. But he found he couldn't. Oh, his vocalizer worked only he found he didn't have the strength to speak. Slowly, oh so slowly, he felt his consciousness fade to black. The last thing he remembered seeing was the kneeling male fall prone on the mud soaked ground.

* * *

Bluestreak woke slowly, his systems feeling tired and achy, but lighter. And dry. Defiantly dry. The gunner activated his optics and instantly recognized the ceiling of the med bay aboard the Ark. He was home. Moments later, Ratchet's face replaced the view of the tiles above. "About time you woke up." he said gruffly. Blue simply looked at him, trying to let his mind catch up with the present and to remember….something. "Bluestreak? You feeling okay?" the medic asked, the gruff tone leaving immediately. The younger Autobot opened his mouth and then closed it again. He repeated the process a couple of times before Ratchet shook his head. "The most talkative one we have and he's speechless. Will the wonders never cease?" Bluestreak again just looked at the medic before trying to lift himself up on his elbows. Ratchet moved immediately, putting a restraining hand on his patient's chest. "No way. You might be quiet for the moment, which I count as a small blessing at other times, but you are not leaving this berth. You have no idea how much trouble you gave me this time and the way I see it, you owe me by not getting any ideas about getting up."

"Ratchet? What happened?" Bluestreak's voice was scratchy and harsh, as if he hadn't used it for weeks. Ratchet's shoulders dipped slightly and he seemed a bit relieved that the younger bot was speaking. "What happened? You mean you had half a frickin' building fall on you and you don't remember it?" Blue merely shook his head and the medic sighed.

"Tracks and Hound found you after you had failed to give a location. You were trapped under a very large pile of rubble that apparently fell while you were digging around it. It took him about an hour to find you and get you out of there. You had severe damage to your frame, including some really nasty breaks in your energon lines. Much longer and you wouldn't have woken up. You've been out for three days." the CMO explained. The gunner looked up at the tiles again, face thoughtful and then his brow furrowed. "Ratchet. Why was I giving a location?" he asked, looking back at the medic. "You said you'd found one still alive…" was the reply. Bluestreak's optics widened and he made a quick move to sit up. Ratchet reacted and shoved him back down. "Slag it all, Blue! I spent the last two days trying to put you back together and I'll be damned if you mess it up now! What's gotten into you?"

"The human! He…he was hurt real bad…Is he okay? Did he live? Where is he?!"

"Whoa! Stop squirming or I'll deactivate your motor circuits. I don't know about your human but I'll ask, alright? But you will not be moving. Period. Understood?"

"Yes, Ratchet." Blue replied meekly.

Ratchet removed his hand from the gunners chest and walked to his office, activating his comm-link on the way. The prone 'bot was left looking up at the ceiling tiles. Finally he remembered what was eluding him. How'd he had managed to forget was beyond him…maybe the energon loss? All he knew was it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen in his life. Even without his scanners he knew that the male human was in a bad way. Those coughing fits weren't to be trifled with it seemed. But somehow, the human had found the strength to try to rescue his rescuer. He couldn't help but wonder, were all humans like that? Were they all capable of such amazing feats? He hoped so. Really he did. He'd seen enough to know that humans were capable of such destruction, such devastation. They were capable of destroying their own with hardly a second thought. But they were also capable of the most selfless acts. And he could only wonder at the true depths to it.

Ratchet returned from his office and approached the musing patient. "Your human is in Intensive Care at the hospital in Las Angles. He suffered some pretty bad stuff. Broken ribs, collapsed one lung and had fluid build up in the other. Some minor internal bleeding…Blue, what really happened out there?"

Bluestreak sat a moment and answered, "I found him in a pile…I called it in and Hot Spot asked for my location and said that'd he send someone…when I went to give the location, the wall fell. I guess I got knocked offline and when I came around again there was this human trying to dig me out. Most amazing thing ever, Ratchet. He was digging the rocks away from my intakes but he could barely stand up…"

The CMO regarded the gunner for a bit before speaking. "Seems to me he wanted to return the favor." Blue nodded. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, the prognosis is good for him. His name is Alex, by the way. Alex Morrez, he's firefighter and paramedic." Ratchet said, laying a data pad down near the gunner, "and there's a number to the hospital on there as well as the direct line to his room. Apparently, he's been asking about you as well."

"I can call him?" he asked, hopefully.

"Once you get to your quarters, you can do whatever you want. You're on bed rest and as far as I'm concerned, you can do that in your own place."

"But you said no moving…"

"I know what I said. And if you can talk then you can probably walk. 'Aid here is going to make sure you get to your room. Give him any grief and you will be answering to me. Now get the hell out of my med bay." the CMO answered and retreated to his office.

First Aid approached the berth and picked up the data pad left by Ratchet. "C'mon, Bluestreak. You heard the boss."

Together the two 'bots made their way down the corridors of the Ark towards Bluestreak's quarters. The trip was slow and painful for the newly repaired gunner. Thankfully, the Ark was usually quiet at night and there weren't many others to have to navigate around. First Aid was actually quite surprised when Ratchet retracted the orders to keep him in med bay for another two nights for observation when it was obvious that the gunner was hardly up to par. Usually, the CMO didn't care if a Prime ordered someone back to duty or what. Surely the older mech had his reasons for releasing the young bot to quarters. He looked over at his charge and couldn't help but notice the possessive hold he had on the data pad and the almost forlorn look in his optics. Ratchet had his reasons for everything he supposed.

He left Bluestreak once he was inside the door of his quarters.

Bluestreak hissed a bit as his legs practically screamed at him. He wondered if this is what it was like for Alex now. He sat down gently on his recharge berth and eyed the data pad. Should he call now? It was rather late…and the human did need to recharge as well. Blue sat the data pad down on the table beside his berth and eased himself back. He'd call in a few hours, but for now, he needed to rest a bit.

* * *

First Aid returned to the med bay and chimed Ratchet's door and walked in as soon as the CMO spoke. "Regarding Bluestreak…" he started. "Yes, I retracted the order, yes, probably would have been better to take him to his room on a stretcher, no, I'm not pulling him back in here until tomorrow for a checkup." the CMO stated. Ratchet hadn't even looked up from the data pads on his desk. First Aid leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest. "May I ask why?"

Ratchet set the data pad down and looked at the younger medic. "Do you know Blue's history? I mean, history as in past, not medical?" When his subordinate shook his head, the CMO continued. "Neither do I. And I wonder if anyone other than Blue knows. He's not telling. Something happened to him back on Cybertron. Something that seems to be responsible for making him as skittish as he is." Ratchet paused to pick up another data pad from his desk. "Now, something else happened a few days ago. Something to do with that human. And hopefully, it was something that can help the kid. I don't know how much actually went down out there but something has changed him a little. Perhaps it ended up being good for him."

First Aid listened until his mentor quit speaking. But he could see the older mech's point. Something had seemed a bit different about the gunner. He nodded and smiled behind his face mask and left the office to finish his own work.

* * *

His internal clock told him it was already late morning when he came back online and he sat up quickly. And immediately regretted it. Pain laced up his abdomen and he groaned a bit. He didn't move for several minutes, waiting for the aches to subside. Finally, he relaxed back against the wall and picked up the pad, activating it. The gunner inhaled a shaky breath and activated his comm-link to the local phone systems, and dialed the number. He had to talk to Alex. The human had shown him something…and it made perfect sense.

* * *

Ratchet called him to the med bay several hours later. Bluestreak's injuries were still causing him some pain but that was to be expected after the problems his systems had undergone recently. The gunner had seemed a bit…happier today. "I talked to Alex's wife this morning…" he started. Ratchet smiled a bit and leaned back on the neighboring berth, setting the scanner on the surface. "He's going to be just fine she said…" Yes, some good had come of this whole mess after all. Human resilience was an astounding thing and in a few occasional instances, even the mech's could learn from it. And as Bluestreak told him of the phone conversation he'd had with Alex's family members and Alex himself, Ratchet knew that Blue had realized something. No matter how bad a situation, you can always pull yourself out. Even if you feel like dying immediately after, you would have succeeded. And he couldn't fault that it was something important to the younger Autobot. 


End file.
